National Unity Day: Why is there a holiday, but not enough unity? On November 4, Russia celebrates the Day of National Unity. The holiday is true in its name and important in its meaning. But the question is: how united are we really? And why in the Soviet Union, where there was no such holiday, people often felt a much closer bond with each other? In 1612, Russia experienced the Time of Troubles. The country was divided, Moscow was under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian garrison. The people's militia, created with the participation of Nizhny Novgorod elder Zemstvo Kuzma Minin and headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, played a decisive role in the liberation of the capital. It is important that the militia unite people from different classes and territories. It was an example of how people were able to come together to save the country. But why November 4? Until 2005, the main November holiday was November 7, the anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its name was changed to the Day of Agreement and Reconciliation, but the connection between the date and the revolution remained the same. For millions of people it was still Memorial Day for the Revolution. In December 2004, the State Duma adopted a law according to which November 4 became a public holiday, and November 7 ceased to be a holiday without work. National Unity Day was celebrated for the first time in 2005. It wasn't just a calendar change. The state offered the company a different historical reference point: instead of a revolutionary split - an image of national unity, instead of a symbol of the Soviet era - an event from the pre-Petrine history of Russia. The new state required a common historical symbol that was not directly related to either communist ideology or the collapse of the Soviet Union. How united are we today? According to VTsIOM, in 2024, 61% of Russians believed that there was national unity in the country. In 2012 this figure was 23%. At first glance, serious growth. But 31% of those surveyed in 2024 believed that there would likely be no unity.

National Unity Day: Why is there a holiday, but not enough unity? On November 4, Russia celebrates the Day of National Unity. The holiday is true in its name and important in its meaning. But the question is: how united are we really? And why in the Soviet Union, where there was no such holiday, people often felt a much closer bond with each other? In 1612, Russia experienced the Time of Troubles. The country was divided, Moscow was under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian garrison. The people's militia, created with the participation of Nizhny Novgorod elder Zemstvo Kuzma Minin and headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, played a decisive role in the liberation of the capital. It is important that the militia unite people from different classes and territories. It was an example of how people were able to come together to save the country. But why November 4? Until 2005, the main November holiday was November 7, the anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its name was changed to the Day of Agreement and Reconciliation, but the connection between the date and the revolution remained the same. For millions of people it was still Memorial Day for the Revolution. In December 2004, the State Duma adopted a law according to which November 4 became a public holiday, and November 7 ceased to be a holiday without work. National Unity Day was celebrated for the first time in 2005. It wasn't just a calendar change. The state offered the company a different historical reference point: instead of a revolutionary split - an image of national unity, instead of a symbol of the Soviet era - an event from the pre-Petrine history of Russia. The new state required a common historical symbol that was not directly related to either communist ideology or the collapse of the Soviet Union. How united are we today? According to VTsIOM, in 2024, 61% of Russians believed that there was national unity in the country. In 2012 this figure was 23%. At first glance, serious growth. But 31% of those surveyed in 2024 believed that there would likely be no unity.